Mississippi players celebrate after the Music City Bowl NCAA college football game in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Dec. 30, 2013. Mississippi beat Georgia Tech 25-17. (Photo/Alex Edwards)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Two years, two bowl victories for head coach Hugh Freeze and the Ole Miss Rebels. The Rebels were able to hang on against Georgia Tech Monday in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl and take a 25-17 victory and improve to 8-5 on the year.
“We’re thrilled with the outcome of the game,” Freeze said. “We’ve had more than our share of things that have hit us toward the end of the year, not just injuries but loss of loved ones, just difficult things. Those are the times that a love of a team or group is really tested, and I couldn’t be more proud of the young men that went out and battled against a very good football team today in Georgia Tech.”
The Rebels jumped out to an early lead when junior quarterback Bo Wallace scampered into the end zone from 17 yards out to give Ole Miss a 7-0 lead. However, Georgia Tech would answer right back with a touchdown run of their own from eight yards out by Robert Godhigh.
Ole Miss would then score 16 unanswered points to push their lead to 23-7. First, Wallace found junior Donte Moncrief on a 28-yard score. Next, Wallace went 10 yards on the ground into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the game, and finally senior kicker Andrew Ritter hit a 29-yard field goal to put the Rebels comfortably ahead.
But Georgia Tech wasn’t going down without a fight. The Yellow Jackets scored 10 points in a little over a minute early in the fourth to cut the Rebel lead to 23-17. After a field goal, quarterback Vad Lee threw a bomb downfield to Darren Waller who reeled it in after getting past Tony Conner in coverage who fell down. Seventy-two yards later, Georgia Tech was suddenly down just six.
Ole Miss just kept catching breaks, however, and with a little over four minutes left in the game, the Rebels caught their biggest break of all when they recorded a safety to push the lead to 25-17. Georgia Tech would have one final chance when they got the ball at their own 20-yard line with 25 seconds left to play, but an interception by Senquez Golson sealed the win for the Rebels.
Leading the way for Ole Miss on the night was Wallace, who was on a mission to redeem himself from his past couple of performances. Wallace finished the night 22-32 for 256 yards in the air with a touchdown, and also led the team in rushing with 86 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns.
“Proud of him,” Freeze said of Wallace. “I just knew from watching him prepare that the way we ended the season didn’t sit well with him. I liked the way he prepared, and I’m proud that he was able to have the game he had today.”
Other big contributors include Moncrief, who led the team with six catches for 113 yards, sophomores Jaylen Walton and I’Tavius Mathers, who went for 53 and 58 yards on the ground, respectively, and freshman receiver Laquon Treadwell who finished with five catches for 51 yards.
Overall, it was a big day for the Rebel offense which finished with an extremely balanced attack of 221 yards rushing and 256 yards passing. Although the offense shined at moments, it was the defense that caught the eyes of many with their play against the spread-option look of Georgia Tech.
The Rebels were able to hold one of the nation’s best rushing attacks, which averaged over 300 yards on the ground per game, to just 151. Overall, Georgia Tech only finished with 298 yards of total offense.
“We said all week long that there would be an adjustment period of the speed to which they operate their triple-option stuff,” Freeze said. “As many days we had to work on it, there is still no way you can ask your scout team to do it at the pace they do it, and I thought you saw some of that early.
“Our kids made great adjustments. Couldn’t be more proud of (defensive coordinator) Dave Wommack and his staff and the job they did in scheming and getting us a plan.”
With the win, Freeze has turned around a program that was 2-10 the year before he arrived into a 15-win team in two years. Moreover, a program that has two consecutive bowl victories under it’s belt.
“To win two bowl games in our first two years with what we inherited, I think says that we are headed in the right direction for the future,” Freeze said. “So it is a very positive step.”
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— Matt Sigler
mcsigler@go.olemiss.edu
